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The force of the blast pushed him back against the dome, but he was far enough away that it didn’t even break his concentration. Not everyone was so fortunate. When the air cleared, the castle’s barracks were half-gone.

‘God, I hope there aren’t any normal people here,’ said Axiolis.

Zeff took the opportunity to plant more drills. He got out four more within close proximity to one another before a trio of servants attacked him in unison.

‘Don’t kill Axiolis!’ ordered Dergoz. ‘We need them alive!’

Zeff knew each attacker. Oscar Murray, Adam Leroy, Davin Echer. All decent, loyal men in his mind, and unfortunately, they were all too strong for Zeff to kill instantly.

But that didn’t mean they were strong enough to stop him.

Oscar sent a path of destruction at him while Adam and Davin tried to flank him with an arm of freezing gas and a flashy silver sword, respectively.

An ice platform flung Zeff up and over their attacks, and he formed another hand sign--middle and index fingers fully extended, this time with both hands. Literal hand guns, they were, both in shape and in function. Bullets of empowered ice shot out in rapid clusters. His three opponents scattered, but Zeff still mowed down Oscar and Adam. Davin only survived because of sudden silver armor, which had still taken a beating.

‘Look out!’ said Axiolis.

A long stretch of radium reached all the way from across the courtyard, and Zeff used a block of ice to knock himself out of the way. But it wasn’t enough. The radium branched out after him and gored him through the stomach. It continued branching downward, trying to find its leverage against the ground in order to keep Zeff suspended in mid-air.

Again, Zeff had to multitask. A water jet to cut himself free. A shower of frozen bullets to keep Lawrence busy. Zeff hit the ground with a thud and yanked the rest of the radium out of his chest, thankful he couldn’t feel the awful burns it had left in his flesh.